Celtic centre-back Christopher Jullien should be back in the starting XI for the Hoops when Raith Rovers come calling on Sunday afternoon.
The Bhoys will take on their Championship opposition in the Scottish Cup 5th round at Parkhead this weekend. It’ll be the second time the 2 sides will have met after Celtic knocked Raith out of the League Cup in Glasgow back in September.
Regardless, this clash comes at a time when the fixtures are coming thick and fast towards Ange Postecoglou’s men. Indeed, we’re currently on a run of 13 games within a 43-day period. That means there are minimal opportunities to drop our top players and give them the rest they need.
Raith at home is one of the few opportunities in which we can look at a fixture and be confident in making a host of changes yet still winning the match. Such is the gulf between the 2 teams, we can look at giving some of the fringe players a chance as well as those who have recently recovered from injury.
That’s where Jullien comes in. He’s been back training for some time now after his knee ligament damage back in December 2020. He’s even been a part of 3 matchday squads in 2022, albeit he was dropped from the squads to face Rangers and Motherwell respectively.
The reason it’s been difficult for him to get in? Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt have both been absolutely shining together at the heart of the defence. Dropping either for a big game is unthinkable at the moment.
Christopher Jullien gearing up for his Celtic return
There will come a time when Ange Postecoglou will need to try and rest Starfelt or CCV. We can’t go through this incredible run of fixtures with both men playing every single game. It increases chances of both fatigue and injuries.
We know what Jullien is capable of both in terms of the good and the bad. Being thrown in against Raith will give him a lot more leeway to make some mistakes on his Parkhead return, with all due respect to the Championship side.
The last thing Jullien needs is to make his return and make some costly errors. That’s why throwing him into the mix against one of the better sides in Scotland or even in Europe would be risky.
The truth is we don’t know exactly when Starfelt or CCV will pick up an injury either. It could be the case an ankle knock is picked up in the near future and Jullien is forced right back in at the deep end. It would be nice, therefore, if Celtic could give him some minutes in a routine encounter to help prepare for it.
The Frenchman will be champing at the bit to make his Celtic return. It’s difficult for Ange given his current centre-back partnership is racking up the clean sheets and producing solid displays. But that doesn’t mean he can’t switch things up for the Raith game. We have the talent available.
So it all makes sense for Jullien to finally make his long-awaited Celtic Park return. Fingers crossed Ange gives him the chance.
In other news, Bodo/Glimt star Ola Solbakken set to feature against Celtic after winter of speculation
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